Davidson now sees some opportunities for NASL teams to work with MLS and start to form a real bridge from first division to rest of the U.S. soccer pyramid. The Vancouver Whitecaps have even retained their membership in NASL despite moving to MLS. That probably won't mean MLS reserve teams literally playing in NASL, but it could lead to competitive matches being played against one another or MLS teams operating second division sides in other markets.

"There’s a politically correct and a market positioning way to do those things," Davidson said. "Are we open to scrimmaging and open to playing their teams for their reserve league standings? We have to talk about it. We want to cooperate. We want to help."